PLease note this is HISTORIC / archived information left online for legacy purposes
for the latest in the UK’s schemes to help people buy a home click here
Key Worker Mortgages
If you are on a low income or need to live in an area with high property prices, you may be wondering if you’ll ever be able to afford a home of your own.
But don’t despair
A range of Government-backed ‘HomeBuy assistance’ schemes have been set up to help buyers just like you climb onto the housing ladder.
They offer an affordable alternative for people including key workers (ie key public sector workers like the police, nurses, firefighters and so on) whose earnings would be unlikely to qualify them for the size of mortgage necessary to buy in the traditional way in their chosen area.
They also apply to social tenants and those on the housing register
How ‘HomeBuy’ schemes work
Although the details vary, these schemes work in one of two fundamental ways
• Type one: buy and rent
You get the chance to purchase an affordable share of a flat or house, instead of having to shell out for the entire property.
You get a mortgage in the normal way to fund the part you’re buying and pay rent on the remaining portion
.
• Type two: buy with an extra loan
You get access to additional low-cost funding, which runs alongside your mortgage, making it easier to afford a home of your own.
The different schemes
STOP PRESS: Check out the latest Government “Help to Buy” Scheme
This is a buy-and-rent scheme designed to help tenants of participating councils and housing associations buy their existing homes.
• New Build HomeBuy
Another buy-and-rent scheme, this was set up to help qualifying first-time buyers and others purchase newly built homes from participating builders/landlords.
• Open Market HomeBuy
There are two Open Market HomeBuy schemes, but both provide extra low-cost funding from your mortgage lender and/or the Government.
Would I qualify?
Each scheme has its own eligibility criteria, but you may qualify if you are
• A tenant of a council or housing association
• On the housing register, waiting for a council or housing association home
• A key worker, such as a nurse, teacher or police officer
• A first-time buyer who can’t afford to buy a property